In his treatise on Roman architecture, Vitruvius Pollio declares that the qualities of a good building are "firmness, commodity, and delight." "The Ten Books on Architecture" outlines building methods for everything from aqueducts and temples, to decorative plasterwork. Written i...

In his treatise on Roman architecture, Vitruvius Pollio declares that the qualities of a good building are "firmness, commodity, and delight." "The Ten Books on Architecture" outlines building methods for everything from aqueducts and temples, to decorative plasterwork. Written in the first century BC, and dedicated to emperor Caesar Augustus, it is the only complete document of its kind.